Improvement in direct-acting pumping-engines



w. WALKER. DIRECT-ACTING P'U'MJPII TG-EITGIIQ'TIT. .No. 173,74.-5

Patented Feb. 22, 1876.

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UNITED STATEs PATENT OFFroE.

WILLIAM WALKER, oEMANoHEsT R, ENGLAND, AssieNoR or ONE-HALF HIS RIGHT ToJOHN TREeoNINe, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE.

IMPROVEMENT IN DIRECT-ACTING PUMPING-ENGINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 173,745, dated February22, 1876; application filed September 8, 1875.

To all whom ti may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM WALK R, of Manchester, in the county ofLancaster, England, have invented certain Improvements in Direct-ActingSteam Pumping-Engines, of which the following is a specification:

The invention relates to the now well-known class of steam-pumps orpumping-engines, in whichwthc valves employed to regulate the admissionand emission of the steam to and from the cylinders are actuated withoutthe aid of rotating shafts; and the principal object is to promoteeconomy in the consumption of steam. Such pumps are arranged to workexpansively in the following manner:

An elongated piston has two ends provided with packing, of a diameter.to suit the bore of the steam-cylinder, and has a cylindrical portion ofa lesser diameter extending between the said ends, the said cylindricalportion being fitted #110 work in a suitably steam-tight manner in apartition, which is formed by con tracti n g the bore of the cylinder ator near the center of the cylinder, or by fixing in such position anannular-shaped block or partition- Annular chambers are thus formed,into which steam is admitted to act upon the smaller areas of the pistonends, and is afterward expanded into the spaces between the piston endsand the cylindercovers to act upon the larger areas of the said piston.A cylindrical valve (or two cylindrical valves connected together)regulates the movements of the steam, each valve being formed with apassage to connect two ports, through which steam passes from theannular steam-space between the piston and the cylinder-cover, and alsowith a passage which connects the said larger steam-space with theexhaust-passage. Steam is admitted into a space between the two valves,and finds its way by leakage into the end spaces between the said valvesand the valve-box covers. The last-named end spaces are connected bypassages with ports formed in the aforesaid partition, and as the pistonmoves to and fro passages formed in the said piston establish acommunication between the said ports and a port leading into theexhaust-passage.

The arrangements herein described are applicable'to pumps employed inthe raising, forcing, or exhausting of water, air, or other fluids. I

A steam-pump of the kind referred to is illustrated by the accompanyingdrawings.

Figure 1 represents a side elevation of the steam-pump, with thesteam-cylinder in section. Fig. 2 is vertical section on the line A, andFig. 3 a vertical section on the line B, inFig. 1. i v

In the said figures, O is the piston, which is formed with two heads, aa, connected to gether by means of a barrel-part, b. The said headsaremade to lit the interior of the cylinder D, and are provided withpacking or packing-rings in the usual or ina suitable manner. At aboutthe center of the length of the said cylinder an annular partition, 0,is fixed, the said partition beingbored, and provided with packing tosuit the barrel 1), and the said barrel being turned and fitted to slidewithin the said partition in asuitably steam tight manner. A key, fixedin the said partition, and entering a groove formed in the barrel b,prevents the said barrel from rotating. Other means may be employed toprevent such rotation, if preferred. The cylinder D is formed with avalve chest or chamber, E, which is bored out to receive the slidevalveF, which is fitted to slide to and fro within the said chamber. The saidvalve consists of two parts, which are connected together at cl, so asto form one casting; but, if preferred, the said valve may consist oftwo castings, suitably connected together. The two sections of the valveare formed with passages 6 which serve to establish communications forthe flow of steam from the an nular spaces g h to the end spaces t'j ofthe cylinder, and with recesses 70 l, which, at the proper times,establish communication between the passages m a and exhaust-passages0., The said valve is not required to be quite steam-tight within thechamber F, and therefore is not provided with packing-rings; but suchrings may be employed, if thought to be necessary. Steam is admitted tothe central space between the two sections of the valve through anopening at p, and part of such steam finds it way by leakage into theend spaces q r. A passage, 8, formed in the cylinder-casting, extendsfrom the space q to a port formed in the partition 0, as represented bythedotted lines in Fig: 1. A similar passage, t, extends from the space1 to a second port formed in the said partition; but as the saidpassageis formed in the part which is represented as being cut away inFig. 1, it does not appear in the said figure. Two passages, u and c,are formed in the barrel 1) in such a manner and in such positions, asthat, when the piston G approaches the termination of its stroke ineither direction, oneof the last-named passages will connect the passages or t, as the case may be, with a passage, to, which extends into theexhaust-passage, the effect being that steam will flow from the space qor r, as the case may be, into the said exhaust-passage, and theequilibrium of pressure upon the-ends ot' the valve being therebydisturbed, the said valve will be moved in the direction toward thespace which has been so exhausted. Supposing the parts to be in thepositions as represented in the drawings, highpressure steam would beflowing through the port a: into the annular space h, and at the sametime the steam which had acted during the im mediately-previous strokewould be flowin g through the port y and passages e and m into the spacei, into which space the said steam would expand, and the piston wouldtherefore be propelled in the direction indicated by the arrow, theexhaust steam flowing from the spacej through the passages a and Zintothe exhaust-passage 0. The movement of the piston in the said directionwould continue until the passage u in the piston had moved into positionto connect the two passages s and w, in manner as seen in Fig. 2, whensteam would flow from the space q into the exhaust-passage 0, and theexcess of pressure within the space V would force the valve toward theend of the valve-chamber marked q. The efl'ect of this movement ofthe'valve would be to open the port 3 for the admission of highpres'snresteam into the annular space 9, and to establish a thoroughfare for theflow of expanding steam from the annular space h through the passages00, f, and a into the space j, the passage m being caused to communicatewith the exhaust-passage 0, whereby the reversal of the direction ofmotion of the piston would be effected. Astarting-handle,,z, isprovided, in order that the valve may be worked'by hand when the pump isto be set in motion after being at rest. The said handle is mounted on arocking shaft, on which 'is' fixed or formed a lever, which gives motionto the valve when the shaft is rocked by means of the said handle.

The pump proper, G, may be of any ordinary or suitable form andconstruction, as may be preferred, or as may be suitable to varyingrequirements.

I claim- The valve F, having upon its ends cylindrical portions of adiameter less than that of the cylinder in which theymove, in order thata sufficient amount of steam may pass said cylindrical portion tooperate the valve, in combination with the piston G, havingsteampassages formed in it, and eduction-passages s, u, t, and w, theparts being constructed and arranged substantially as herein described,

whereby the valve is made to control the induction and eduction of steamto and from the spaces *5, j, and it of the piston and cylinder, for thepurpose set forth.

WILLIAM WALKER. Witnesses:

- EDWARD K. DUTTON,

HUGH G. GRANT.

